1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to network-based computer services and, more particularly, to methods of and systems for enabling a person to control access to information about that person held by other entities.
2. Description of Related Art
In this Information Age, information about a person can dramatically affect the person's life. As an example, a surprisingly common misuse of information about a person is identity theft, in which a third-party impersonates the person using their personal information for fraudulent authentication. Yet, most people have little or no control of third-party access to important, personal information about themselves.
One example is that of credit history. Many commercial transactions, such as automobile purchases and rental agreements, require access to a person's social security number, typically for retrieval of the person's credit history. Once a third-party has a person's social security number, the third party can collect the credit history of that person in perpetuity. And, while social security numbers are generally not intended for authentication of a person's identity, social security numbers are frequently used for exactly that purpose. Continued possession of a person's social security number and ability to get up-to-date credit histories facilitates identity theft and other nefarious acts.
Yet, access to a person's credit history is solely up to the corporate entity warehousing the information and a third-party hoping to gain access. The person to whom the information pertains is heretofore not considered an interested party with any control over such access whatsoever.
What is needed is a system by which people can control access to personal information about themselves.